Mumbai under siege

When I arrived office on Thursday, Mumbai was the focus of all talks.

Why Mumbai? Has something gone wrong there?

Don’t you know there have been blasts there?

Blasts! When? I did surf the news channels in the evening yesterday before sticking to a Hollywood movie.

It was after 9 in the night.

After 9! That means it is not safe to venture out at night too (The recent blasts had a few things in common – they were on weekends and in the evening, closer to 6).

Are we safe anywhere and anytime?

…………………………………..

Deep was the first friend I called in Mumbai.

Arre…blasts are common in India these days. Didn’t you recently have one in your city (he meant Delhi)?

Yeah but they have continued till today. Isn’t that a cause for concern?

Not a bit. Waise bhi I am not going to office today. Isi bahane mid-week mey relax karne ka mauka mil jayega (will get a chance to relax).

But as the day proceeded, his concern was palpable when I called him in the evening that day.

Yaar, I am afraid now. How can this be so prolonged? Also schools, colleges, offices, local trains, and shops too are closing. My parents want me to immediately leave the city.

I had no assurances.

———————-

Later in the night, Star Movies was airing ‘Babel’.

Starring Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett, the movie busted the long held belief of Americans that they are a superior race and that they are born to fight all evils afflicting the world.

Brad Pitt finds himself in Morocco with his wife (played by Cate Blanchett) badly wounded by a gun shot by two curious boys (which everyone believes is the work of terrorists).

While the natives attend to the wounded women, there is no help received from the American embassy, not even an ambulance. Even fellow tourists, with who the couple were travelling, refuse to stay any longer, complaining of non functional AC.

At the same time, there is the illegal Mexican help, who saves the life of two American kids, at the cost of her own life.

Why I mention this film now has a reason.

Raj Thackeray and team has forever looked down upon people from the north, especially UP and Bihar. At a time, when Mumbai was undergoing the worst ever crisis, and Raj and goons decided to be mute spectators, it was people from all over India (Maharashtra included) who decided to give their support. The NSG had not the sons of the Maharashtra soil as the only fighter. They were sons of the entire Indian soil. All of us, from different parts of the country, had their eyes glued to our TV sets, waiting with bated breaths, when the bloody battle would come to an end.

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The battle of Mumbai is won. But the cost that India has to pay is massive

• 195 dead and over 300 injured.
• Initial cost of attack Rs. 50 Crores (approx)
• Loss of foreign exchange $20 billion
• 10 foreigners among those killed
• 15 police personnel lost their life
• Among them were Hemant Karkare (ATS Chief), Ashok Kamte (Additional Commissioner of Police), Vijay Salaskar (Senior Inspector), Major Sandeep Unnithan (National Security Guards), and two commandos.

And how the policy makers want to compensate for all these losses?

• By making a scapegoat of Shivraj Patil, the Home Minister of India
• By pressurizing the Maharashtra CM and Deputy CM to part with their chairs
• By suggesting a new anti-terror law that is yet to be agreed upon by allies, leave apart the opposition.
• By suggesting more policies that show no immediate effect.

And then follows the reactions of people who have no faith in politicking:

Hemant Karkare’s wife declines any compensation from Narendra Modi. During his living years, he was heading the Malegaon blasts case, the bone of contention for the BJP.

Major Sandeep Unnithan’s father declined to meet Kerala CM.

And then the common man

“After each blast, you tell me this was the last. This was the last time my life was terrorised; life will be safe hereafter, the government assures. Since I have no choice, I go about my life as ever. The media praises me, says that life is once again back on track. And just then there’s another blast – not the last one though”.

The ‘Sh’ Factor

Outside the Delhi railway station, I asked the Auto driver if he will go to Salimar Garden and his face glowed with a smile. Once inside the auto, brother told me it is Shalimar, not salimar. “But I said the same”, I defended.

This was my first day in Delhi and my tongue was hardly able to appreciate the difference between ‘S’ and ‘Sh’, thanks to the years of living in Bihar, a state best known for its rustic ways, popularised by its rustic ambassador, Laloo Yadav.

Delhi had separate tongue twisters for the different ‘Ss’ though. There was a regular S for words like school. Then there was an Sh for Shabd and Shubh. Also Delhites could rightly pronounce Shatkon, which is another S with a variation.

And that too without any formal training in pronounciation. Even we had all those variations of S when we studied the Devanagri script. But never did we learn to use them in our usual conversations.

This was paying off now. I was a laughing stock each time I told the DTC bus driver to stop at Salimar Garden. Once he told me not to maro so many sali (wife’s sister).

I have to do something with my pronounciation – I decided – like several thousand biharis who come to this place – only to make things worse.

Several days spent in twisting my tongue with the tongue twister : she sells sea shells on the sea shore. Irritated my brothers in the process. The end result was Shamoshe…ha ha.

In the end I gave up trying to improve my tongue, or rather using the different Ss at the right places.

However, other transitions were not as painful.

I quickly took up ‘main’ than ‘hum’ used at my place.

So “Hum ja rahe hain” quickly became “Main ja raha hun”. And in a bihari group, I could easily transition into the original version.

Thankfully I didn’t falter here like one of the jokes where a Bihari says “Hum hoon na” instead of “Main Hun Na”.

So proud had I been about my pronounciation – winning at least one elocution contest. The impression was shattered now. I used to make fun of Bengalis who would stretch words like forwaaard and backwaaard. Each time the Gurkha watchman would greet father with a “Shab ji”, I couldn’t help laughing (Unlike biharis who can’t pronounce the ‘Sh’, Gurkhas only have ‘Sh’ in their script). I would bully a Tamil guy almost everyday with ‘ille ille pon’. Also I laughed at a sardar boy for telling ’sakool’ instead of ’school’.

Now was my turn.

Chhath Pooja is being politicised. What about Ganesh Chaturthi or Dahi handi

MNS chief Raj Thackeray said yesterday that he is not against Chhath Pooja (after going against his earlier statement that he was opposed to the festival being organised by Biharis in various parts of Mumbai).

However, this turnaround on his last statement is on one condition – that Chhath Pooja will not be politicised. Mr. Raj Thackeray, can I know what do you exactly mean by politicising the festival?

Does politicising the Chhath festival mean alleging support or funding the festival?

If yes, I would like to show you a quote by one of your own party members during the recent Ganesh Chaturthi festival. Source: Indian Express

“Leaders across parties will be funding and supporting Ganesh mandals this year because elections are approaching. It is our festival and with the recent focus on the Marathi issue, it is a good publicity technique for the parties,” said Raju Palande, an MNS leader.

One more leader of your tribe says:

“We have put up five times more banners compared to last year. We have put up names and photos of local office bearers so that they can be recognised by the people. We are gaining in on the publicity garnered over the last six months,” said Andheri vibhag MNS leader Sandeep Dalvi.

What do you have to say on these Mr. Raj Thackeray?

I hope you will have answers ready to prove that this is not politicising. I think you will apply the same “son of the soil” alibi to save your face now; i.e. you can do such politicising of your own festivals because you are the son of the soil.

By the way, you seem to give more such illogical logics these days. Only yesterday you said this:

“When Lalu Prasad was the Chief Minister of Bihar, there were 1,200 murders. But, there was no demand to book him under NSA. When Biharis were killed in Assam, there was no uproar. A Goan minister opposed starting of a Goa-Bihar railway by saying that the state did not want more beggars. Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dixit also spoke against people of Bihar and UP. But, only when Raj Thackeray speaks, there is a nationwide uproar and the Prime Minister has to intervene.”

Does murder and exploitation become legal if many people are doing it?

You really seem to be a maniac Raj? God knows when these political parties will be tieing your hands rather than just gaining political mileage of the situation.

My humble plea to all mumbaikars who have decided to do Chhath in mumbai is that they do not believe Raj Thackeray. Who knows what act of yours gives him the excuse of defining your act as political and he rampages your festival mood. May Chhath ma give him some sense and restore peace in Mumbai.

Maa Durga in my life

Its festival time again and i would like to talk about one of my interests here.

Come October and festival spirit ensues all over Bengal, Jharkhand, Bihar and the other north eastern states. Although not as magnanimously as in Kolkata, durga puja is celebrated with as much gusto in my native place as well. May be because of the Bengali influence here.

Large statues of goddess durga mark the festival. The murtikars start making the clay idols months before the puja starts. The goddess is depicted with ten hands, carrying different weapons in each hand to fight the evil mahishasur. Sometimes she is shown in an angry mood and sometimes her eyes pour out her love and compassion for the devotees.

Durga Statue

As a kid i used to adore the statues. I would go from one puja pandal to another to have a sight of the various forms of Durga. Slowly, the praise for the statues turned into a desire to carve a statue myself. At our place there was abundance of red clay, best for carving clay idols. I picked it from the temple itself or go pick it from the farm land, recently wetted by the monsoon rains.

In those days, the dreams were easily acheivable (by present standards) but the hands to realise those dreams were too small (by past standards). My only desire then was to make a statue of durga with all her hands intact. Many days spent in the backyard trying to carve a statute of durga, with no less than ten hands, but no success found each time i took up the venture.

The ten hands made the statue heavy and every time the statue fell down. In the past years, I had compromised with the situation by having a couple of hands less. Mahishasur, the demon who was killed by Mother Durga, often got a step motherly treatment. By the time it was time to make the idol of mahisasur, i was entirely drenched of energy and my back pained like anything from sitting continuously. Also most of the clay was over. So, the idol of mahishasur was made half-heartedly. But this year i had bigger plans and without compromises.

Maa Durga

Durga Puja mostly fell during the monsoon vacations, after the second term exams at school were over. So there wasn’t pressure of studies. But this particular year, the Durga Puja fell a little earlier and students were not particularly happy since the second term exams were immediately after school resumed.

I wasn’t happy either. The puja celebrations were banned at home. There was a bit of a relaxation – you can return home at 7 instead of 5 in the evening. There were strict instructions from father to concentrate on studies – mother was strictly instructed not to interfere.

For me it was a double whammy – no enjoyment and also no time to devote to my dream – of building a durga idol with all hands intact.

But that didn’t stop me from following my desire. I did build one – after father left for office – and with mummy shouting that father will be very angry. surprisingly, this one stood intact although it had all the ten hands and the mahishasura too was carved with patience.

Once completed, i safely kept in the verandah, away from father’s attention. I would let it to dry tomorrow. Soon my mind veered to how beautiful it would look once it is dry and painted. The image of the painted durga, with big black eyes, a red sari, fake jewellery, and weapons (in those days i used to make weapons with aluminium foils collected from tin cans) started revolving in my mind.

Between studies at evening, i couldn’t stop myself from having a sight of the divine creation. I still couldn’t believe that the statue was standing intact.

However, father was annoyed by my restlessness during study time. Every time, i would go to the verandah giving some or other excuse. He was worried about my preparation, although i had assured him many a times that i was fully ready for the exams.

Papa soon learned what was diverting my attention. He came to the verandah and instantly pounced for the durga statue. Ma tried to stop him. I was all in awe when father grabbed the statue in his hands and threw it in the drain outside.

All my dreams were shattered in a moment. I didn’t know how to react. It looked as if i had been struck by a deep grief. It was food time in half an hour and i refused to eat. Ma scolded me for acting childishly. Father was feeling guilty now for his act. That night i was revengeful for papa.

In the morning, i tried looking for the statue; still some hope of restoring it for the festival. On close observation. I did spot some parts of it. However it didn’t look as appealing now with black drain water flowing over it. That year Maa Durga departed for her heavenly abode much before visharjan.

VISHARJAN

Bihar drowned in floods

I feel sorry for bihar where the floods have rampaged the entire state.

I would want every indian to extend their support in helping the people of bihar.

The central government has been kind towards the plight of biharis by granting Rs 1000 crores.

The bihar floods has also been declared a national calamity.

Thanks Manmohan Singh ji

Bihar Floods

However, there is still a lot that needs to be done towards the plight of poor biharis.

Why no TAM for Bihar

Did you know this?

Except for Bihar, Jharkhand, J&K, and the North Eastern states, TAM meters are available in all states.

For those who do not know, TAM meters are used to calculate TRP or Television Rating Points.

The voice of biharis (jharkhandis included) is considered insignificant in media. and therefore no TAM for bihar.

For J&K and the North Eastern States, this is well understood because they are war torn and certain rights of people living in these states are curtailed.

but why Bihar and Jharkhand.

Don’t media habits of the people of these states have any impact on the advertisers?

this explains why bihar finds so little mention in print and electronic media.

and whenever biharis find mention in media, it is to make fun of their rustic habits.

being rustic for a punjabi sikh is worth showing. being rustic for a bihari is worth nothing.

The Bihar of the Future

Also read this article at Indimag

(The idea to pen a futuristic story about Bihar came when my parents called me up to know if I would be home for Holi. Watching the Delhites here enjoy the festivals with their near and dear ones makes me jealous. Why didn’t we stay back in Bihar? Because bihar would have given very few to no opportunities for growth. So the Bihar of the future would be one where the people are able to get all opportunities for growth, education, and a good life in their own state. The achievements may be quite a feat for Bihar today, still we can always dream and focus in the direction. The article may not be factually correct.)

Laxman Sharan was taking his evening stroll in the newly built Gulabi Bagh in nearby Patna when a group of kids catch up with him and start pressing him to talk of the time when a few bandits attacked Gaya town. Laxman Sharan, in his 70s and baba to the kids here, has narrated the story so many times; yet the excitement of the kids here shows no exhaustion.

On the eve of International Women’s Day

Here’s a motivating story i came across on The Hoot on how two poor girls in Bihar have come up with an all women’s news network service. This is Appan Samachar brought to you by Anita Kumari and Khusboo Kumari from a remote village near Mujaffarpur.

“The channel operates from a one-room office in Ramlila Gachhi village with a bare minimum of resources. Armed with a handy cam, tripod and gun mike, the news team, comprising a reporter, cameraperson and anchor, walks across considerable distances in the interiors to cover stories. When they have to traverse greater distances, the gutsy newswomen borrow cycles from their neighbours.”

Where is the civic sense in Indians?

if mumbai is infamous for its gang-wars, delhi rues about the rallies that are organised here almost everyday.

just a day after mayawati brandished her support with the crowd collected from all parts of northern india in delhi, BJP and akali dal decided to hold a rally of its supporters from punjab. so there was an entire punjab on buses, trucks, and all forms of vehicles on the roads of delhi. they had come here to pressurise government to waive off the loans to farmers. whether the government was moved by such pressure tactics is still unsure; however, this really brought traffic on the outer ring road to a standstill.

Delhi To Noida

“Where can i get a bus to Noida”, I asked this young gentleman on the corner of the road. Go towards the depot and you will know. The answer appeared vague that time, but i soon learnt what he meant. Naveda, Naveda – bus conductors were shouting at their highest pitch to draw in passengers to their buses in that typical western UP style. Barely had I disclosed my intention to go to Noida that i was literally forced into a bus. Route 347 runs from ISBT to Noida.

“What time will the bus start?”.

“8.15″, the staff answered.

“But it’s already 8.15.”

“That’s by your watch. In my watch, it’s still ten minutes to 8.15.”